11.12.2012

Orange Flag Ceremony

Goodnight, Flag. Sleep well.

Papa Bear

Every Wednesday at 6pm in the center of the Orange Circle (AKA the Plaza (AAKA Chapman and Glassell)), Mark Wayland and his gang of military misfits say, "I love you" to America. How? They take down the flag in the center of town and give it all of its deserved pomp and circumstance - there is saluting, someone playing Taps, and the flag gets folded by like 20 guys into one of those little triangles you sometimes folded a piece of paper into to play football with in class.

The environment is filled with hats and t-shirts that say something cheeky about being a Marine. Plus about 40% of the people that come to this event are part of this Harley Davidson riding group called the Patriot Guard. They like to dress like they're in a scary motorcycle gang, but they're mostly ex-military grandpas.

"Then we use it play football, right?"

Before the main event, Mark stands in front of the group with special announcements. He will usually talk about someone who is over seas fighting, or is MIA, or list names of those that have been lost recently in the Iraq War. Then there's a moment of silence.

If you dig America, the military, or Taps, you would enjoy this half hour event in the Circle/Plaza.